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From the article: "Music technology in some ways appears to have been on a trajectory in which the end result is that it will destroy and devalue itself. It will succeed completely when it self-destructs. The technology is useful and convenient, but it has, in the end, reduced its own value and increased the value of the things it has never been able to capture or reproduce."

After today's section case discussion, I was curious about how prevalent 1:1 tablet implementations are in K12 schools in the U.S. Here's a map from the One-To-One Institute that appears to have been generated by news coverage of tablet rollouts--I doubt it's comprehensive, but it's still an interesting geographic picture...

Students less likely to cheat in virtual classrooms... But what are the criteria for cheating in these classrooms, vs. in traditional classrooms? what constitutes cheating impacts how often somebody is seen as transgressing

this article made me wonder about the difference in student motivation between the online an physical classes. people busting their butts to learn in night school for example may be less likely to cheat than the regular full time students, but that doesn't mean night school decreases the likelihood of cheating.

For those of you interested in trying out a bit of augmented reality at home, try out this green energy augmented reality application available from the GE web site. You will need a printout of the glyph (the black square design provided on the web site) and a webcam in order to get this to work. Audio volume adjust according to the distance of the glyph away from the webcam. This little AR app was designed using ARToolKit originally created by Dr. Hirokazu Kato.

Augmented Reality Sample created for General Electric using ARToolKit. You will need a webcam and a printout of the glyph (the black box design that the AR object will need to anchor to).\n\nI can't directly anchor to the augmented reality sample, so please bring your mouse pointer down to the bottom of the browser window to where it says, "Navigate the Smart Grid," and click the augmented reality icon on the far right of the navigation bar that appears.

This could be used as an alternate means of interacting with computers. From an educational standpoint this does not appear to be dated, but rather creating opportunities for people with limited means of motion.

This is a website that allows users to find videos from which children (3-18) can learn. All videos are hosted by other sites like YouTube, but content is approved and moderated separately. Comments and discussions are separate from the comments on the original post (i.e. WatchKnow comments do not get added to YouTube and YouTube comments do not appear on WatchKnow). There is heavy emphasis on transparent, widespread monitoring of content. This is accomplished in ways very reminiscent of Wikipedia's moderation methods. Right now, the site has a good number of videos, but lacks a rich community of active users. This means that it is harder to locate quality videos since few users have rated and discussed content.

This website is very similar to an idea I've been brewing for a while (though I believe this site is missing some of the more promising features). I was pleasantly surprised to see professor Dede's name on the Advisory Committee.

"Despite popular opinion, the flow of qualified math and science students through the American education pipeline is strong-except among high-achievers, who appear to be defecting to other college majors and fields."

As new technologies appear and become incorporated into existing systems, new problems and opportunities for abuse are also created. 

It appears I've been posting this wrong, and it hasn't made its way to the HGSET561 thread directly. Sorry about that. This article is relevant to the CAST project I'm working on for this class as well as a general evaluation of this emerging market. Is the big money in the analytics of user behavior? Hmmm...

"The personal essays, which first appeared in the Voices from the Learning Revolution group blog, include images, clickable links and videos - plus selected comments by readers of the original posts." You may have heard of Will Richardson or seen a TED talk of his. He is the co-founder of Powerful Learning Practice, an organization which does online and blended teacher development. As they launch Powerful Learning Press, they are giving away their first e-book.

Using mobile technology as a tool for financial support... could this be geared toward education? (Has it been?)

Fantastically simple interface! It doesn't appear as though any funding is going to education, but more to households. But if this takes off, it would be great if the leaders of this non-profit lead school building initiatives, or other types of education initiatives.

Similar to the article below from Daniel, this article talks about how edX is making progress on the certification of students and final exams.

"Considering the biggest complaints about online education have fallen under the three Cs - completion, certification and cheating - edX appears to be covering all of their bases."

Online textbooks containing multimedia that are easy to update. Appears to be a combination of an E-textbook and wikipedia. (Link contains example Flexbook.)

http://www.ted.com At TEDIndia, Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data -- including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper "laptop." In an onstage Q&A, Mistry says he'll open-source the software behind SixthSense, to open its possibilities to all.

Hi there Hongge, thanks for sharing this amazing video. He's managed to bridge certain key technologies and made them more intuitive for the daily user. It's great that he's made it open-source too! Maybe we could pay a visit to MIT to check it out? I wonder though, whether such a device would in the future not only project thoughts and programs but also capture user data and begin to 'suggest' or advertise certain things to you. Scary but the potential is enormous. Again, thanks!

Thanks, Matthew. That video was actually filmed three years ago (yes, even before iPhone 4) and I wonder if Pranav is still at MIT Media Lab. Maybe Karen knows more about him and could make an introduction for us? Machine learning and personalizing content for us is already happening. Personally, I like the idea of personalized content simply because nowadays we can be so easily info-overloaded. It is quite normal for CEOs and political leaders to digest pre-screened/selected info by their secretaries and/or advisers, right? And Google has been doing this for advertising to consumers. I don't mind the right ads appear at the right time when I need the product or service. What really strikes me about Pranav's idea is that it reminds me about the movie Inception, where you can transplant an idea into someone's mind and the distinction between reality and the virtual world is so blurry.

Customized digital textbook with audio and video content appears to make a postive impact in some BSchools, while Faceebook is used to foster a sense community. "The iPad is not seen as the latest fashion gadget, but was chosen because it can prove be extremely useful in the classroom," Delphine Wharmby, H.E.C.'s communication director, said. Genevieve Bassellier, McGill University professor, referring to her students' use of her customized electronic textbook. "They see a huge increase in quality...It gives me more flexibility."

Great examples of technology application in the classroom.

Background on Augmented Reality. Reading for 9/14.

3-D projectors offer immersive advantages for some types of content

This article is interesting in light of Haste's article for class. Gladwell dismisses the "Twitter revolution" in Moldova and explains that real activism--real civic participation--is not seen in low-risk online networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. Perhaps new technology cannot empower individuals enough for real-life civic engagement?

I am not sure that online networks only form weak ties. I am somewhat surprised there was no mention of http://www.meetup.com/ and the soon to be released http://www.jumo.com/ as they both appear to consider themselves to be a means for social change. There is another point raised that we seem to have forgotten activism. This point, if true, may be a good explination as to why social media is not commonly used for social change.

Thanks for posting this Jessica! I've been thinking about this for sometime now and I don't think Gladwell is right in saying that Twitter and FB form weak ties just as the SM folklore claiming that twitter or FB is in the middle of real activism. Social media is a tool for organizing civic participation. Civic engagement is defined by how many participate and only later by the platform/tool they use. Couple of reactions to Gladwell's piece: http://rburnett.ecuad.ca/main/2010/10/1/the-anti-gladwell-small-change-indeed.html http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/tipping_point_author_malcolm_gladwell_says_facebook_twitter_cant_change_world.php

This link is taken from a blog about technology in education. From the video, it definitely appears to me that the children are engaged in their work. I have heard of the company valve and their physics game portal. If any of you have personal experience in this domain , please share.